Apple Reportedly Cancels Plan To Release iPad Air With OLED Display For 2022

Earlier in June this year, renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple would be updating certain 2022 iPad models with OLED displays, starting with the next-generation iPad Air. However, according to a recent investor note obtained by MacRumors, Kuo now says the company has allegedly decided to exclude the Air variant from receiving this upgrade.

Instead, it is said that the company will continue featuring LCD displays for next year’s iPad Air model. The analyst states that one reason behind this was due to costs as well as quality concerns, which did not meet Apple’s expectations. This also seemingly corroborates with a report by The Elec that was published back in late September, which suggests that Apple has called off a joint-project with Samsung to use an OLED display developed by the South Korean giant for a forthcoming iPad Air model.

Meanwhile, an earlier prediction of Kuo’s suggests that Apple is upgrading the 11-inch iPad Pro to feature a mini LED display – a tech that is already included in the current generation 12.9-inch Pro model. It is also mentioned in the investor note that Kuo claims Apple intends to have the new 11-inch model to be the “focus of [the] iPad line in 2022,” and concluded that releasing an OLED-equipped iPad Air would be detrimental to its potential sales.

While Kuo’s track record of predicting future Apple’s releases has been accurate to a certain degree, it is still advisable to take the information provided by the analyst with a pinch of salt. Whether his predictions are accurate or not will only be determined when Apple officially unveils its 2022 iPad line-up, which – as most of us are aware – is still far off.

Samsung Reportedly Cancels The Galaxy S21 FE

Despite the numerous leaks which have allegedly revealed its design and specifications, the supposedly upcoming and highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S21 FE might not see a release in the end. Not long after a report suggesting its cancellation was published by South Korean website DelightIT.net a few days ago, Samsung is said to have silently removed any traces of the smartphone from its official online presence.

Even before a product is announced or released, the tech giant has been known to put up an upcoming device’s support page on its website across multiple regions. Most of the time, these pages usually bear a device’s model number, but lack the necessary documentation related to it – especially if its uploaded ahead of an official launch. Regardless, the support page’s existence is enough to suggest the product’s imminent release.

However, in the Galaxy S21 FE’s case, it has been found that Samsung has recently removed the support pages for the smartphone from its Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and other markets’ websites. According to SamMobile, which first reported the discovery, these pages now return an error message stating “Sorry this link is now unavailable”.

The phone was first expected to launch in August this year, but was then said to be delayed to September. Supposedly corroborating the latter rumour is a leaked photo shared by Max Weinbach, which allegedly revealed the Galaxy S21 FE’s branding being present in an unspecified Samsung store. However, as most of us are aware by now, the launch never came to be.

It is speculated that the ongoing chip shortage, among other potential factors, resulted in the supposed cancellation of the Galaxy S21 FE. If this is true, it will undeniably disappoint those who’ve been looking forward to a more affordable variant of Samsung’s current generation flagship.

Given that the phone was never officially announced, the company can easily claim that it has never existed in the first place – despite prior evidences or leaks. Samsung’s own Schrödinger’s cat, if you may.

Amazon Cancels Lord Of The Rings MMO

Amazon has many video game ambitions, some working out better than others. But it has one that’s supposed to be a Lord of the Rings MMO. It’s probably the most ambitious of them all, but it’s also the most recently cancelled of them all.

Bloomberg reports that Amazon Game Studios was working on the online LotR title with Hong Kong-based Leyou Technologies Holdings Ltd. This is also the company that owns Warframe developer Digital Extremes. The game was first announced back in 2019.

While the game was in development, Chinese tech giant Tencent stepped into the picture by acquiring Leyou in December 2020. This then led to a dispute between Amazon and Tencent. Ultimately, both companies could not come to an agreement, and the LotR MMO was cancelled as a result. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the cancellation and the circumstances that led to it.

Amazon is having a rough time entering the gaming market. Between this and the cancellation of Crucible, the company now only has its other MMO, New World, left in development. It currently has a 31 August release date, having been delayed from the initial May 2020 window. Beyond that, it has another ongoing venture into gaming via the Luna streaming service.